Festival Submit

Submit Your Film

The International Queer Women of Color Film Festival screens films by independent LBTQIA+ BIPOC filmmakers from around the world. It’s free to submit, and we cover the cost of audio description for all selected films.

June 11–13, 2027 San Francisco

QWOCFF 2026 (June 12–14) is fully programmed. Films screen at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco, with satellite screenings in partner communities throughout the year and a free Virtual Encore Screening (Fall).

Important Dates

Submission Deadlines

October 1, 2026

Submissions Open

December 31, 2026

FREE Deadline

January 20, 2027

Late Deadline ($50 fee)

Submissions

We Encourage You to Submit

QWOCFF accepts submissions from filmmakers around the world. Our Film Festival centers LBTQIA+ BIPOC filmmakers, and our curatorial vision reflects that focus. We accept films of any length, any genre, and any subject matter that speaks to your vision. Films must be completed within the past three years.

We center LBTQIA+ people of color filmmakers:

Of every ethnicity, national origin, and migration status - including:

  • African Descent / Black
  • Native American & American Indian
  • First Nations & Indigenous
  • Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander
  • Southwest Asian, North African/Arab, Muslim, South & Southeast Asian
  • Asian, Southeast Asian & Central Asian
  • Chicanx & Latinx — including Afrodescendiente & Indígena
  • Multi-ethnic

And of every gender and sexual orientation - including:

  • Lesbian, bisexual, asexual, queer women (cis & trans)
  • Two Spirit and intersex
  • Nonbinary, agender, gender nonconforming, and transgender people of color

Film Genres

  • Documentary
  • Narrative
  • Experimental
  • Mixed Genre

Film Formats

  • Shorts
  • Features
  • Episodic
  • Music Video

Films must be completed within the past three years.

Themes & Topics

Any theme and any topic. Our focus is on filmmakers and your vision.

Why QWOCFF exists

Our Curatorial Approach

QWOCFF’s curatorial vision focuses on artistry and storytelling. We look for originality, artistic quality, and work that resonates with the lives and experiences of LBTQIA+ BIPOC communities.

We also consider how much access a filmmaker has had to film industry resources — jobs, training, distribution, mentorship, and other opportunities within the field. Filmmakers who’ve had fewer of those opportunities are who this festival was built for.

The Film Festival elevates LBTQIA+ people of color filmmakers and seeks films that explore vital social justice issues. All decisions by the selection committee are final. Filmmakers are typically notified by late February.

Questions? Email festival@qwocmap.org
Accessibility Requirements

What We Need From You

Here's what filmmakers are responsible for, and what we take care of. Accessibility is central to everything QWOCMAP does — not just at the festival, but in our training programs and year-round work. Learn more about our accessibility practices.

Open Captions (required)

Your film must include open captions — burned into the video, always visible. This is a submission requirement. Open captions include spoken dialogue, speaker identification, and relevant sounds.

We can't accept .SRT subtitle files. Not sure how to caption your film? Email festival@qwocmap.org.

Audio Description (we cover this)

All selected films are audio described for Blind and Low Vision audiences. If your film doesn't already have audio description, we cover the cost. This is unusual in the festival world, and we're proud of it.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about QWOCMAP.

We accept work in progress, as long as the exhibition copy with English Open Captions is completed by our deadline. Open Captions include all spoken dialogue and important music & sound effects. If someone begins speaking off screen, the Open Captions should include speaker identification.

Selected films may be included in different parts of our Film Festival: in-person in June, Satellite Screenings year-round, and our online Encore.

Yes, you can, as long as it was made within the last 3 years. For 2027, that means films completed between 2024-2027.

The short answer is yes, it is free to submit. We do this to make sure that filmmakers have opportunities to have their work screened. Submission fees force filmmakers to make hard choices. And as filmmakers ourselves, we know it's costly to submit films ($50-100 a pop).

After the free deadline passes on December 31st, there is a $50 late fee for submissions between January 1-15.